As the name indicates...this RPG will revolve around Crossroads and New Beginnings.CrossroadsWe would like to see characters come to a 'crossroads' in their lives where important and life changing decisions have to be made. These events can be very personal...i.e. a relationship beginning, ending or changing, or they can be moral or spiritual. Whatever is decided, they should show 'growth' for your character.New BeginningsThis can be any number of items as well and most likely will relate back to the 'crossroads' in your character(s)' life or lives and/or career. They may be starting a new career as teacher or student at Xavier's School for the Gifted or may have been selected to train for the upcoming X-Men team(s). Their 'new beginning' once again may be as simple as establishing a new relationship or changes in an old one.
The X-Men and all likenesses are the property of Marvel Comics, 20th Century FOX, and ALL the creative minds therein. X-Men Crossroads is a non-profit RPG board. We here participate for the pure enjoyment and satisfaction writing in the X-Men Universe brings.Most of the Bio information is courtersy of Marvel Directory
Daily RitualsWho: Shen With: Open When: Morning (7-8AM) Where: Common Room
Shen did not eat with other people, never had since he had acquired his mutation. It was partly because Shen didn't like the looks he got when he opened the mask slightly and revealed the darkness within the mask. He would wait and then he would eat. He didn't eat much anyway, he couldn't taste anything. It was impossible to taste without a tongue. He had learned that shortly after the mask had been forced on him.
Shen just sat on the center of the floor. He had showered and dressed and was ready to face the day. Not quite though. Slowly, Shen sat down on a bare spot on the floor. He turned his focus inward and he placed his hands on his knees. He was not in the lotus position, but that would come later, this was priliminary meditation. Easy exercises for his mind. Shen just sat on the floor, his body still as a statue. The goal was not to levitate, to focus only inward and not outward. He stayed sitting, grounded, his body unmoving.
Shen saw nothing, he had shut off any absorbance from the electromagnetic spectrum. He sat in darkness, in silence, in solitude. He likes it this way. This is peace, this is the Tao. Nothing happens without purpose, not for him anyway.
Tags: Open
MarinaBlack X-23/Stacy X
Posts: 134
(6/11/06 5:16 pm)
Re: Daily Rituals
Who: Stacy X
With: Shen, Open
When: Far too early in the morning for Stacy
Where: Common Room
Warning: Language and Sexual Content
What the hell kind of palce was this where everybody got up at 6 o'clock in the freakin morning? Just as soon as the sun had peeked over the horizon, alarms started going off, the curtains seemed to disintigrate and there was nothing in the freakin' world that would allow Stacy to sleep now except maybe earplugs and the blanket over her head. Even then, it was a coin toss...and she wasn't in the mood for games today.
Instead of hanging around and waiting for them to start screaming down the halls (as if they weren't loud enough already), she decided to cut her losses and get up. The sun burned her sleep-weary eyes...last night had been the first time in...well, forever, that she hadn't had sex. It felt...nice. She was refreshed and her thighs didn't hurt. Damn, it was...nice not to be a hooker anymore. Except for the fact that it was only a matter of time before her profession caught up with her...
For example, her clothes. Though she had several heavy pieces from when she had to go out in public, most of her clothes were pretty raunchy. Though it was only 6:30am, she spent a good hour going through everything she owned, to come up with a pair of tight jeans and a V-neck red tank top. She didn't look too slutty, she decided...not with copper scales covering anything that might've been considered indecent. With a quick brushing of her silky dark hair and a dab of neutral colored lip glass, she took off to see what was up with this place.
Stacy had meant to go exploring yesterday...but she had gotten caught up in the heat of the moment. She almost blushed under the memory. Slipping down the stairs, her dark eyes swept the entire area. Though she has in a "safe" place, she was still extremely wary of what might happen to her if someone thought she wasn't supposed to be here. Stacy knew better than to take any chickens for granted or hatch anything. Or was...nevermind, it was Stacy X logic.
Stepping into a room, she breathed a deep sigh of relief. She had made it to the first floor! Whoo! Turning around, she almost let out a cry. Shen was levitating again...but this time, instead of talking to him like she yesterday, she just watched instead. It was truly mythic to watch a man floating around like that...very mythic and very strange to a woman whose sense of reality was confined to the bedroom only.
TAGS: Shen (perhaps), open
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Shen With: Stacy X, Open When: Far too early for Stacy, between 7 and 8 AM for the rest of us Where: Common Room
Shen's body hovered in midair. He holds it effortlessly. It took him a while at first, to learn how to channel this sort of power. Now it is almost second nature. In the air, there is no disturbance, no disruption, nothing to bother him. He is wearing long grey pants and a traditional Chinese shirt, buttoned to the neck. This shirt is also gray, but a slightly different shade of gray than his pants. His feet are bare, not that it matters though.
Shen is a aware on some level that there is somewhere else in the room with him. He does not leave the levitating position, but he slowly begins to increase his awareness. Slowly, he lets himself see the world around him. He tilts his head upward slightly and sees Stacy X. Shen's body remains floating in the air, legs tucked under him, hands firmly on his knees. The mask remains expressionless, cold, distant. Shen however breaks the silence. "Did you sleep well?" he asks. His voice is softer than before, than it was the other day when they spoke. Even though his voice is softer, it still retains the ragged edge. It is something he can never rid it of.
Shen slowly lifts his hands off his knees and keeping his palms facing the floor lifts his arms slightly. His body descends to the earth, slowly, carefully, gradually. His feet come out from under him and gently touch the hard wooden floor. He moves effortlessly across the floor, barely making a sound. He moves towards Stacy at a slow but steady rate. He stops himself next to a chair and looks at her. She seems to be at peace, which is more than Shen can say for himself at the moment.
After he had left the garden last night, Shen had gone to his room and lit candles infront of a stone Buddha. Shen's room had been filled with the flickering firelight with himself in the center, facing the statue of Buddha. Shen had tried to gain an understanding of why he had said so much to Stacy X. None had come, and here he was again, in the same space with her. There was a respectful distance between them, and Shen just gestured to a nearby couch. "Feel free to sit down if you wish," he said, in the same soft voice.
Tags: Stacy X
MarinaBlack X-23/Stacy X
Posts: 138
(6/11/06 7:51 pm)
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Stacy X
With: Shen, Open
When: 7-8am
Where: Common Room
WARNING: LANGUAGE and SEXUAL CONTENT
Stacy had to admit, she was shaken when Shen spoke. She thought she was being really quiet, as not to distrub him, and yet when he spoke...he nearly scared her out of her skin. "Did you sleep well?" Rattled, she pressed her hands to her side. "Shit man, ya gotta warn a gal before ya go on scarin' her like tha'." She said with a soft laugh, "Yeh, I slept real good. It's nice ta have a bed where there ain' a randy man in there with me."
Tossing her dark hair, she stood frozen where she was. She didn't want to do anything that would make him fall or make him uncomfortable. Stacy herself was a little out of her element. She hadn't screwed Shen...which was probably why she was having such deep seated issues. Stacy X did not know how to deal with men she didn't screw. She didn't know how to even start a conversation that didn't have dirty undertones. "I hope ya got some sleep too." She said.
Luckily, instead of letting her embarassment get the best of her, Shen intervened, "Feel free to sit down if you wish," Smiling, she made her way to the couch and sat down, tucking her legs beneath her. "Thanks, I wasn' sure if I was gunna bother ya. I cen leave if ya wan'" She would never force her presence on him.
Tags: Shen
Re: Daily Rituals Who: Shen With: Stacy X When: 7-8AM Where: Common Room
Warning: Language and sexual content
"Shit man, ya gotta warn a gal before ya go on scarin' her like tha'. Yeh, I slept real good. It's nice ta have a bed where there ain' a randy man in there with me."
"I'll have to take your word on that," Shen said polietly. He had not been with anyone, male or female and thus could not speak of the world with the flesh. His celibacy was partly luck and partly forced upon him. He knew of people who had been gang rapped in the Prison Camp, but he was not among them. Shen thought it was at first because the Chinese feared his brother, then when Shen's own mutant power emerged, he knew it was because the Chinese were afraid of him. After getting out of prison he had chosen celibacy. He wasn't looking to change that particular vow any time soon.
"I hope ya got some sleep too."
"I don't sleep," Shen commented. It was true. He couldn't sleep, not the same way other people did. He could only achieve states of mind like sleep. His mutation had destroyed the possability of physical sleep. Shen used medative trances to achieve the same effect. It had taken a long time to develop the mental strength necessary to enter such a state. Now that he could do it, he used it sparingly. Three hours in the medative trance was like nine hours or REM sleep. Thus he was seldom truly disconnected from the world.
"Thanks, I wasn' sure if I was gunna bother ya. I cen leave if ya wan'"
"Please, stay," Shen surprised himself in saying it. He sat down in the chair, back upright, body rigid. He relaxed slowly into the chair however, allowing himself to relax slightly. He just let the silence sit for a moment. It was a comfortable silence for him, which was not an uncommon thing. He found comfort in silence alone, but a comfortable silence with another person was an almost new experience for Shen. One he was enjoying.
Tags: Stacy, Open
MarinaBlack X-23/Stacy X
Posts: 139
(6/12/06 10:42 am)
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Stacy X
With: Shen, Open
When: 7-8am
Where: Common Room
Stacy hoped she wasn't offending Shen in any way when she spoke about her first night alone. He had maintained a polite tone of voice when he said, "I'll have to take your word on that," Ah, so floating man was a virgin...or at least wasn't gay. Stacy was apt to choose the former, Shen didn't seem like the kind of man who went around screwing anything with legs. That was another thing she liked about him.
His honesty was also a plus. "I don't sleep," "I'm sorry, I know wha' insomnia feels like. There was a year there, tha' first one at X-Ranch, when I didn' sleep at all. Really made me sick too." She shook her head, "Nightmares, ya know. It's real hard ta' sleep through em'." Stacy nearly cringed, why the hell had she just told him that? She had never told anyone about that...and damn, there it was, slipping out of her mouth.
But in spite of her big mouth and her annoying presence, he wanted her there. "Please, stay," Nodding, she smiled and watched as he lowered himself into a chair. For several moments there was nothing but companionable silence. Stacy had never before sat in silence and felt totally comfortable...especially not with a man. But here she was, thoroughly enjoying herself and not a word spoken. Finally, as not to spend the entire day staring into space, she turned to him. "So,what're yer plans fer the day, Shen?"
Tags: Shen
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Shen With: Stacy X, Open When: 7-8AM Where: Common Room
"I'm sorry, I know wha' insomnia feels like. There was a year there, tha' first one at X-Ranch, when I didn' sleep at all. Really made me sick too. Nightmares, ya know. It's real hard ta' sleep through em'."
Shen just nodded. He didn't want to explain the effect of the black hole on his sleeping patterns, assuming he still had the ability to sleep. He just nodded sympathetically. "I haven't dreamed in a very long time, or if I have, I can't remember them," Shen stated. It was the thing he missed most about sleep, the ability to dream. Dreams had been a form of release for him and they had been taken away when the sun within his mind had collapsed upon itself. Shen wondered now, in retrospect, how many of his dreams had been induced by the star which had been part of his brain. It was a question that could never be answered.
"So,what're yer plans fer the day, Shen?"
"I plan to wait for the kitchen to empty before I eat, then after that, I am going to do battle with the American legal system and try to become a legal citizen in this country," Shen said simply. Stacy had been one of the few people who had seen Shen 'eat'. It was a disturbing thing for some to see. A gaping black maw where lips, teeth, and a tongue should be. Shen didn't really eat any more, he didn't know where the things consumed by the black hole went. He knew only that he took some of their energy. It was not a pleasant proccess to observe.
Shen just sat for a moment. He wondered if that was really what he wanted to do. Did he really want to take so much time trying to find ways to gain citizenship? Was it even worth it? He knew that he could not be deported back to China, the United States government knew that to do so would be to sentence Shen to death. He just tilted his head slighlty to one side, and then the other. He looked straight at Stacy. "Perhaps I should try to get better acquainted with the other residents of this house?" Shen asked of her. He had a feeling that Stacy also didn't know as much of the mansion as perhaps she might like to.
Tags: Stacy
Edited by: terminus00 at: 6/12/06 11:02 am
MarinaBlack X-23/Stacy X
Posts: 140
(6/12/06 12:08 pm)
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Stacy X
With: Shen, Open
When: 7-8am
Where: Common Room
"I haven't dreamed in a very long time, or if I have, I can't remember them," Stacy was disheartened by that. When she was not screaming from nightmares, she often enjoyed the dreams she had. She dreamed of a time when she wouldn't be a hooker anymore. Silently she had forgotten her sorrows, hoping that someday, somehow she would be free and she would find someone to love her. She was lucky now, half that dream had come true...
"Sometimes, ya know, dreams come when ya ain' sleeping. They're somethin' tha' happens to pass tha' time." Smiling softly, she shook her head. "Daydreams...they're real nice sometimes." And they're what kept her alive at X-Ranch. While one man or another was having his way with her, she would dream of some person who would steal her away. Who knew that Stacy was actually a closet romantic?
Finally getting back on track, she listened as Shen talked about his day. "I plan to wait for the kitchen to empty before I eat, then after that, I am going to do battle with the American legal system and try to become a legal citizen in this country," Stace frowned, "Ya really wait until there's no one in tha kitchen?" She pressed, "I heard a' privacy but tha's kinda strange, honey. But..." Actually, on second thought, Stacy understood. "I know it's hard, lookin' different than anybody else..."
She didn't touch him, that would've bee awkward, but she looked him straight in the face. She did care about him, even after one day, and she wanted to help him. And she was extremely happy he was going for citizenship. "Tha's great, Shen! Ya git' ta put tha past behind ya and become American." She smiled broadly, "If there's anythin' I cen do ta help ya, I'm a citizen. I ain' a shinin' example but I was born here. Don' hesitate ta ask fer help."
Stacy hoped he knew she wasn't kidding; Shen had enough bad memories of China, the least she could do was help him get a new start. Sure the US wouldn't deport him, he was at a school, but it was time for a new life. And new friends apparantly, "Perhaps I should try to get better acquainted with the other residents of this house?" Stacy shrugged, "I met some people 'round here. Somea' them are annoyin' little brats...others are real nice."
Tag: Shen
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Shen With: Stacy X, Open When: 7-8 AM Where: Common Room
"Sometimes, ya know, dreams come when ya ain' sleeping. They're somethin' tha' happens to pass tha' time. Daydreams...they're real nice sometimes."
Shen would have smiled if that were physically possible. He thought he heard the faint sounds of a romantic in Stacy's voice. He could be mistaken, but he did not comment on it. He thought he had figured the woman out, he thought that Stacy was a stone cold realist. However based off of the tone of her voice, Shen was wrong. He just nodded softly, partly in response to Stacy's comment, partly containing laughter.
"I know it's hard, lookin' different than anybody else..."
"It's not my physical appearance. Some would find my eating habits...what is the word in English...disturbing?" Shen half asked. He wasn't sure. He knew the Chinese and Tibetan words for what he meant. He drummed his fingers against his chair as he tried to bring the correct word to mind. Disturbing was as close as he could get it. Somethings did not have a literal translation. Shen had seen that when he had read an English copy of the Tao Te Ching. It wasn't that the translator hadn't done a good job, it was just difficult to take a uniquely Chinese thought or idea and put it into terms a Western audience could and or would understand.
"Tha's great, Shen! Ya git' ta put tha past behind ya and become American. If there's anythin' I cen do ta help ya, I'm a citizen. I ain' a shinin' example but I was born here. Don' hesitate ta ask fer help."
"In that case, would you mind helping me read the forms?" Shen asked. He still had difficulty reading English from time to time and it was sometimes difficult to actually read the characters given that he saw the page in more than one part of the electromagnetic spectrum. It was a slightly disadvantage, one that had left Shen swearing in either Tibetan or Mandarin from time to time. He was normally not so flustered and he was more than a little annoyed with the United States government for making the process as difficult as it was.
"I met some people 'round here. Somea' them are annoyin' little brats...others are real nice."
"Anyone in particular I should watch out for?" Shen asked. He had spent much time away from the company of others. He knew on some level that Stacy and he would disagree on who was and was not annoying, but on the whole he would need general impressions. He didn't much step out of his room or of the gardens where he conducted his medation. He had spent too much time in isolation, a side effect of his mutation on his psychology. However Stacy was helping him break that wall down. Perhaps in time he would be able to eat breakfast with the others.
Tags: Stacy X
MarinaBlack X-23/Stacy X
Posts: 141
(6/12/06 6:03 pm)
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Stacy X
With: Shen, Open
When:8-9am
Where: Common Room
Stacy couldn't help but laugh slightly at his nodding. Perhaps he was catching onto some of the part she kept hidden...the closet romantic. As a sex worker, she had firmly hid that part, making sure nothing slipped into her work and made her get attached to customers. But there was nothing stopping her now. Shen was expediting the process too...he was making it far too easy for her to be at peace with Stacy X, the dreamer.
"It's not my physical appearance. Some would find my eating habits...what is the word in English...disturbing?" Stacy stifled a laugh, "Bad table manners, babe? Tha's nothin' ta be ashamed of." She chuckled in spite of her efforts not to, "But if yer talking about tha' thing tha' you did wit' the candle last night...ya know, the food sorta disappearin' into tha' black hole ya got in there...well some may be a little freaked. But not me, babe. Ya don' hafta worry about tha'."
She was with him 100%, until he literally told her to go away. She was going to help him become a citizen too. "In that case, would you mind helping me read the forms?" Looking down at her hands, she smiled sadly. "Yeh, I cen try. But...Shen..." She struggled with the words to say exactly what she had to. "I don' read real good. But I'm gonna do my very best..." With a heavy sigh, she getly shook her head. "An' if all else fails, I'll marry ya myself so ya can stay in this country."
Leaving her statement hanging in the air, she answered his final question with a smirk. "Anyone in particular I should watch out for?" "It ain' right ta name names...but you'll know em' when they show up. I'll let'cha make up yer own mind...it ain' fait to taint yer opinion." Stacy may not have liked everyone around here, but she wasn't going to stop Shen from making friends with people. That wasn't her way; it wasn't her call to make.
Leaning back in her chair, she looked out the window. It was a sunshiney day...but clouds were gathering. She knew the rhyme...April showers bring Mayflowers; Mayflowers bring Pilgims. And speaking of pilgrims, Stacy was floating in unchartered territory here. Had she actually offered to help Shen stay in the country by marraige if she couldn't read his papers? Damn...she must've let the fresh New York air get the better of her.
Tags: Shen
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Shen With: Stacy X, Open When: 8-9AM Where: Common Room
"Bad table manners, babe? Tha's nothin' ta be ashamed of."
"The Chinese Army isn't renowned for teaching one which place setting to use," Shen half joked. One of the first things he had tried to read when he had come to America had been the newspaper collumns one of which had been Ms. Manners. In retrospect it was not the easiest primer on the English language to choose, and Shen still struggled to find significance in what that woman said. Perhaps his style of life had made him somewhat callous to learning that sort of refinement. He didn't ask though, most of the time, Shen ate with Chopsticks. He had yet to see Ms. Manners takle chopstick ettiquitte.
"But if yer talking about tha' thing tha' you did wit' the candle last night...ya know, the food sorta disappearin' into tha' black hole ya got in there...well some may be a little freaked. But not me, babe. Ya don' hafta worry about tha'."
"You are one of the few who isn't disturbed by how I eat," Shen stated. On the few occasions he had done the communial dining experience, some had left the table upon seeing the manner in which Shen ate. It was not their fault he supposed, if he had not been himself then he might have had a similiar reaction to seeing a black hole. The presence of a physical void was something that it took many a good amount of time to get used to.
Yeh, I cen try. But...Shen...I don' read real good. But I'm gonna do my very best..."
"Much appreciated anyway, sometimes I am not to see the pages, or at least in the way the way that I am supposed to," Shen confessed. Stacy might not be the best reader, but then again niether was Shen. Also, no one else had been willing to help him try to decipher the pages. It was far easier for Shen to 'speak' English than it was for him to read it. English was a very unusual language with all of the exceptions to its own rules and the way the characters did not always flow phonetically. One of the rules of the Chinese langauge was the phonetics, you had to know how to pronounce things, this didn't seem to hold in some styles of the English language. Shen honestly didn't understand how "ph" could sound so much like "f".
"An' if all else fails, I'll marry ya myself so ya can stay in this country."
"Do you think that would be wise?" Shen asked in Tibetan. He didn't know that he had used his first language until he heard the sound of his own voice. The Tibetan language was radically different than Mandarin Chinese and Shen was stunned at how easily the Tibetan language had come to him. He hadn't used it in a long time but it had felt good to say and to use. It had felt good to hear. Shen shrugged sheepishly. "It's a Tibetan expression that does not have an English counterpart," he said in way of explination. Shen didn't want to insult Stacy, but using marriage to gain citizenship was a last resort for Shen because of his spritiual beliefs. Marriage was a sacred thing that required the true unity of souls, and although he liked Stacy, he didn't know if they had the true unity as of yet.
"It ain' right ta name names...but you'll know em' when they show up. I'll let'cha make up yer own mind...it ain' fait to taint yer opinion."
Shen didn't say anything. Instead he just nodded politely. She understood that they would have differing opinions and she had spoken as not to color his mind. She did understand him, more than Shen thought she could have. Something was between them. Perhaps in a past life they had known each other. Shen didn't know that however and would let that thought drift away with the twittering of the birds. May was a good season for Shen, it was one of the more peacefuly ones.
Tags: Stacy
MarinaBlack X-23/Stacy X
Posts: 141
(6/12/06 8:54 pm)
Re: Daily Rituals
Who: Stacy X
With: Shen, Open
When:8-9am
Where: Common Room
"The Chinese Army isn't renowned for teaching one which place setting to use," Stacy snorted, "X-Ranch niether." She laughed, shaking her head. Hell, they hadn't even used silverware. The eating their did was usually standing up, inhaling some meal in a blanket. Corn dogs were popular, so were Hot Pockets. It was only on Thanksgiving that they actually had a sit down dinner: TV dinners with turkey and gravy, corn, mashed potatoes and a brownie square. All deliciously plastic...
"You are one of the few who isn't disturbed by how I eat," "Well I admit, I personally don' think candles are a good source a' vitamins or nothin'. But hey, they've gotta make great laxatives." She said with a half-smile. It was clear she was joking with him, and she also had no fear of his "strangeness". Hell, she was stranger looking than him, even though he didn't have many facial expressions or...eyes.
She wanted to help him get comfortable with herself, and she was still dead set on helping him. "Much appreciated anyway, sometimes I am not to see the pages, or at least in the way the way that I am supposed to," "Oh, tha' power thing...yeh, I cen see the words. Soundin' em' out won' be too hard I hope. I'll help ya in any way I can." Yeah, she had told him...and his shock came through in another language. "Do you think that would be wise?" Then he clarified as best he could, "It's a Tibetan expression that does not have an English counterpart,"
Stacy just shurgged, "Look, I don' know whatcha' said, babe, but it's a last resort. I ain' fixin' ta' git married anytime soon either." She said, letting out a heavy breath she hadn't known she had been holding. "I'm jus' tellin' ya tha' I wan' ya to have a new life here. Ya' deserve ta' put the past behind ya, to start yer life as a citizen of a country tha's for freedom and equality. I wan' ya' to be able ta leave tha' awful stuff behind ya." Once more shurgging, she finished her thought. "An' as I said, I'm willin' ta do anythin' ta make tha' happen fer ya. Ya deserve it."
Tags: Shen
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Shen With: Stacy X When: 8-9 AM Where: The Common Room
"X-Ranch niether."
"I won't place a bet on that," Shen commented lightly. He didn't know if the expression was the correct one, he thought it was though. He was uncertain however. The regionalisms of the English language were the most difficult thing for him to pick up. It had taken him a year to learn the English language in its basic format, and it had taken him a second year to begin to actually use the English language effectively. It was comming up on his third year in this country and he was still having difficulties with the language. Then again, he understood English, which was more than some of his fellow immigrants did.
"Oh, tha' power thing...yeh, I cen see the words. Soundin' em' out won' be too hard I hope. I'll help ya in any way I can."
"Many thanks," Shen stated. It was nice to know that he had someone who was willing to help him with this time in his transition. The professor had been polite, but on the whole not a very big help in the process. Shen understood though, the professor had more urgent matters on his mind than the needs of one refugee. He was just one of many fleeing something, and this house was for those who were fleeing. No matter what they were fleeing from, they were fleeing something.
"Look, I don' know whatcha' said, babe, but it's a last resort. I ain' fixin' ta' git married anytime soon either. I'm jus' tellin' ya tha' I wan' ya to have a new life here. Ya' deserve ta' put the past behind ya, to start yer life as a citizen of a country tha's for freedom and equality. I wan' ya' to be able ta leave tha' awful stuff behind ya. An' as I said, I'm willin' ta do anythin' ta make tha' happen fer ya. Ya deserve it."
"I do not scorn the hand you offer," Shen said, he didn't know he would say that, "I just don't think it will be necessary. I am a unique problem to the United States. If they deport me, they know I will die, and they do not want the death of someone seeking religious freedom on their soul. However, I am also a mutant, and public opinion is generally against our kind, thus it would be difficult for me to become a citizen. Thus the issue," Shen explained. He was unique to his knowledge. The United States wouldn't dare deport someone to their death in their homeland, however the United States was in no hurry to accept mutant immigrants. They could perhaps hold him in perpetual limbo, which would not grant him any of the rights of a citizen, but it would not have him going back to China. Anything was better than a return to China, where only death would be waiting.
Tags: Stacy X
MarinaBlack X-23/Stacy X
Posts: 142
(6/13/06 11:53 am)
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Stacy X
With: Shen
When:8-9am
Where: Common Room
Warning: Language
Shen's wit was something that enthralled Stacy. For someone who had lived through such terror, he certianly tried to crack some jokes, and Stacy laughed. It was funny that her off-the-wall comments and his satire would mix so well together. "I won't place a bet on that," And their talents and failures seemed to mesh too. He had trouble reading because of his black hole, Stacy was just a bad reader...maybe together they could figure out his immigration papers.
He thanked her again but Stacy still felt uncomfortable. She had no idea what posessed her to offer up herself like that, in the worst case scenario. "I do not scorn the hand you offer," "I just don't think it will be necessary. I am a unique problem to the United States. If they deport me, they know I will die, and they do not want the death of someone seeking religious freedom on their soul. However, I am also a mutant, and public opinion is generally against our kind, thus it would be difficult for me to become a citizen. Thus the issue," Raising an eyebrow, Stacy shook her head. "Baby you grossly overestimate the government." She said sadly.
"Le' me tell ya a story tha' I heard from onea' tha immigrant girls at X-Ranch." Sighing, she bit her lip. "During World War Two, there was a' big ol' boat of Jewish refugees...an' ta make a long story short, tha' government sent them back ta' die. They sent tha' Jews back to Poland." Looking down, her hands started to shake. Nobody would ever believe how truly sensitive Stacy was until they got to know her...she rarely showed this part. "So I ain' trustin' nobody. An' I wan' those documents signed and dated probably jus' as much as ya do."
Clenching her fist, she pressed it into the couch, "Wouldn' it scare the shit outta ya every day? To know tha' at any time, tha' regime could change and ya could be sent back?" Shuddering, she shook her head. "It would scare me." Looking away, she couldn't bear it. "I ain' sayin' this ta scare ya,Shen. I ain' tryin' ta do tha'. I jus' don' wan' ya goin' in ta this thinkin' yer safe either way. I'm jus' tryin' ta help."
Tags: Shen
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Shen With: Stacy X When:8-9AM Where: Common Room
"During World War Two, there was a' big ol' boat of Jewish refugees...an' ta make a long story short, tha' government sent them back ta' die. They sent tha' Jews back to Poland. So I ain' trustin' nobody. An' I wan' those documents signed and dated probably jus' as much as ya do."
"You are referring to the Holocaust?" Shen asked simply. "Even in the world of the Chinese Prison Camp, we knew of this. I have something the Jews didn't, my mutation is a form of insurance. If anyone tries to come and get me and I remove my helmet...well let us just say I would be the last one standing." It was true. He had the protection of a black hole. It gave him an edge, a weapon that no one else had access to. Though the hole itself might be small, Shen already knew that it had awesome destructive power. That to was a last resort. If push came to shove, Shen would push the buttons which would loose the helmet from his neck. Then there would be the screaming followed by the terrible silence of the void. Shen had heard the void's screaming silence only once and that was one time to many in his opinion. However, if it came down to a matter of survival, he would hear the silence again.
"Wouldn' it scare the shit outta ya every day? To know tha' at any time, tha' regime could change and ya could be sent back?... I ain' sayin' this ta scare ya,Shen. I ain' tryin' ta do tha'. I jus' don' wan' ya goin' in ta this thinkin' yer safe either way. I'm jus' tryin' ta help."
"China has had its own dark moments in over 3000 years history Stacy. From this history the Chinese people have learned that living in fear is only half a life," Shen commented. It was true. If you lived in fear, then you were already a slave. If you had no fear, you were your own master. Fear had no hold on Shen, he had transcended personal fear long ago. It was his fear for others which he still had to learn to master. Shen had been a good student of the Buddha and had learned to take comfort in his own situation. He couldn't however learn to pass that state of comfort onto others.
Tags: Stacy
MarinaBlack X-23/Stacy X
Posts: 143
(6/13/06 4:31 pm)
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Stacy X
With: Shen
When:8-9am
Where: Common Room
Warning: Language
This didn't seem like the kind of conversation that a person held with another person they had met the day before. But there Stacy and Shen were, smack dab in the middle of a terribly important conversation about his future. For some reason, their relationship transcended the bonds of "normal" and went straight for "wacky". And not wacky in that 'what was that' sort of way, but more of a 'what the hell am I doing' sort of thing.
Turning back, it was time to answer his questions. "You are referring to the Holocaust?""Even in the world of the Chinese Prison Camp, we knew of this. I have something the Jews didn't, my mutation is a form of insurance. If anyone tries to come and get me and I remove my helmet...well let us just say I would be the last one standing." "Babe..." She started, but she didn't finish her thought. He could consume them in his black hole, he could kill them...sure. Stacy could make it so none of them ever shit straight again. But it wouldn't make it any better.
It wouldn't annihilate the welling of pain in her stomach. It would never fix the problem. "China has had its own dark moments in over 3000 years history Stacy. From this history the Chinese people have learned that living in fear is only half a life," Looking up at him again, she just shrugged. "Fear is an important parta' life tha' has kept me alive." She answered. "If ya ain' afraid ever single day tha' yer gunna get pregnant or yer gunna catch summat that'll kill ya...then yer a billion times more likely ta' have it happen ta ya."
Sighing, she looked out the window into the hazy sunshine. "But tha' ain yer reality, tha's mine." She shrugged again, "An' I can' say anythin' or do anythin' ta make ya understand everything...same way ya can' make me understand evething' you' been through either." She told him simply, taking painstaking care to phrase everything as gently as she could. "But I still care, an' I ain' gunna lie an' say tha' even if you ain' scared...I'm scared fer ya."
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Shen With: Stacy When: 8-9 AM Where: The Common Room
"Babe..."
"Rest assured, the knowledge that I can kill so many is of no comfort," Shen voiced. There was not pride in his statement, just the truth. It had taken slightly over five seconds to bring down most of his detention camp. Five seconds. Given that, it was a safe approximation to say that the black hole had a killing rate of 100 per second, that transalted to in one minute he would be capable of killing approximately 6,000 people. In five minutes, that number would be 30,000. After that, Shen did not care to calculate. He dared not calculate. He knew that he would be sickened by the number. 100 dead per minute. That was a disturbing statistic.
"If ya ain' afraid ever single day tha' yer gunna get pregnant or yer gunna catch summat that'll kill ya...then yer a billion times more likely ta' have it happen ta ya."
"If you do not take the risk of a fall, than how will you learn to fly?" Shen asked. It was an old statement. There was some truth in her words and there was some truth in his. There had to be a happy middle somewhere between the two sets of idiology, Shen just hadn't thought of it yet. He knew that he should be one to speak of risks. Somehow though here he was talking a risk, he was being open to someone else, he was lettting himself be seen. Because he was letting himself be seen, perhaps for the first time in a long time he could truly see.
"But I still care, an' I ain' gunna lie an' say tha' even if you ain' scared...I'm scared fer ya."
Shen caught his own breath. She was afraid for him? He exhaled slowly and stood up. He walked over to where Stacy was sitting and gently placed one of his hands on her exposed forearm. He kneeled down in front of her and looked into her hazel eyes. He knew from the previous evening that she was uneasy with contact, so he lifted his hand from her forearm and placed it on the ground. "You may find this shocking, but I am also afraid for you," Shen admitted. He hadn't been this open in quite sometime and now here he was on one knee talking to a woman whom he had only met less than 24 hours ago telling her that he was afraid for her? Shen just chalked this one up to Karma.
Tags: Stacy X
MarinaBlack X-23/Stacy X
Posts: 145
(6/13/06 9:01 pm)
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Stacy X
With: Shen
When:8-9am
Where: Common Room
They talk was becoming heavier and heavier. This was not lighthearted chit chat, and Stacy telling her new friend that she'd do anything to help him. This was soul-tearing, gut-wrenching, heart-pounding fervor that was driving her mad. Why did she care so much anyway? Damn if she knew...
"Rest assured, the knowledge that I can kill so many is of no comfort," "No it ain'...but it's somethin'. I know tha' ya can defend yerself phsyically. But there's a whole 'nother side...there's that plaguing." Looking down, she sighed. "I don' hafta explain it ta ya...ya already know. Ya already told me ya still hurt for all those people tha' died." She didn't just ache for him, she ached with him. And she couldn't exactly say why...it wasn't a normal response that she had.
Of course, he tried to reason with her. "If you do not take the risk of a fall, than how will you learn to fly?" But Stacy just shook her head. "Tha's the thing Shen, I don' want ya ta fall. I ain' fixin' ta stop ya from living yer life. But I'm askin' ya not to commit suicide fer honor or principal. I'm here ta shoulder tha' fall with ya...not ta watch ya leap head first into the darkness." For some reason, Stacy really felt like crying...especially when Shen came over and, without fear, touched her scaly skin.
"You may find this shocking, but I am also afraid for you," He seemed to know that she was uncomfortable and shocked, at least at first, but then she took his hand in hers. It was slightly awkward, sitting like this, but Stacy didn't feel the effects like she normally did. "Why're ya scared for me, babe?" She pressed, rubbing her fingers gently over his scarred hand. "I wanna know, so I cen fix it. I don' wantcha' worryin' 'bout lil' ol' me."
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Shen With: Stacy X When: 8-9AM Where: Common Room
"I don' hafta explain it ta ya...ya already know. Ya already told me ya still hurt for all those people tha' died."
Shen exhaled slightly. Where had the light heartedness gone. Had he taken it out of the conversation? He hadn't meant it to go this way. However he wasn't telling Stacy one thing, at least not yet. He only felt so guilty about what he had done because he had killed so many innocents. If he had killed more of the Chinese military, Shen didn't know if he would have the same sort of guilt. There was no denying there had been an odd pleasure in taking his revenge, albiet unintentionally against the Chinese military. Stacy didn't need to know that, at least not yet.
"Tha's the thing Shen, I don' want ya ta fall. I ain' fixin' ta stop ya from living yer life. But I'm askin' ya not to commit suicide fer honor or principal. I'm here ta shoulder tha' fall with ya...not ta watch ya leap head first into the darkness."
"You forget, my head already is darkness," Shen joked, trying to lighten the mood. He was not yet ready to use any means necessary to assure that he would remain in the country. However, he was not yet ready to lay down his arms and let himself be deported either. He tred the thin line, and on that line he tried to find his center, his balance. Sooner or later he would be able to find that balancing point, and once he did, all would become clear.
"Why're ya scared for me, babe? I wanna know, so I cen fix it. I don' wantcha' worryin' 'bout lil' ol' me."
"I fear for you because you're one of the few people I can actually talk to without reservation, without worry," Shen explained, "I don't think there is anything you can do that will stop my fearing for you. Now, tell me, why do you fear for me?" It was a fair question in Shen's mind. He had been honest with his answer. Stacy was his friend and Shen had heard it was normal to fear for one's friends. Now Shen wanted to know what he could do to stop Stacy worrying for him. If he could do something about that, then he would do it in a heartbeat or less.
Tags: Stacy X
MarinaBlack X-23/Stacy X
Posts: 146
(6/14/06 10:33 am)
Re: Daily RitualsWho: Stacy X
With: Shen
When:8-9am
Where: Common Room
Stacy sensed a strain on her, he probably felt it too, but damned if she knew. If they made it through this "fight" they were having, there was no limit to what they could achieve. But Stacy did not capitulte easily and she cared too much for Shen to let him start going downhill faster than the French in a bobsled.
He was trying to joke too, which Stacy was wary of. "You forget, my head already is darkness," Smiling bitterly, she nodded her assent. "Tha's true, but yer heart ain'." She rubutted, keeping her voice as level and as tender as she could. Really, she didn't want to see him a ravaged man, sucked in by his own black hole. It wasn't fair...and it wasn't fair to her that after finding one true friend in the world, he was taken away in the blink of an eye.
Finally, at least, he answered her pressing question. "I fear for you because you're one of the few people I can actually talk to without reservation, without worry,""I don't think there is anything you can do that will stop my fearing for you. Now, tell me, why do you fear for me?" Stacy understood that completely, because she left the exact same way. "I fear fer ya fer jus' about tha same reason, babe." She began, picking her words extremely carefully.
"I care 'cause ya talk ta me. Ya don' lookit' me with some bias or moral claim. Ya don' try ta tell me tha' there were other things I could've done ta stay alive in the sewers, other than bein' a hooker." She said, her voice strained slightly. "But th' main reason, ya don' treat me like a hooker. Ya treat me like a woman, ya' even told me I'm pretty. Tha's..." She broke off with a small sigh. "Tha's more than anybody's every done fer me." Squeezing his hand lightly, she looked into his fathomless mask. "I care about ya cause yer you, an' I like the you tha' I see."
Background: Many, many years ago, Charles Francis Xavier established Xavier's School for the Gifted. Also, seeing other Mutants misusing and abusing their powers, he created the first generation of the X-Men.This original team was trained and lead by an old friend of his...Logan, aka Wolverine. Logan's co-leader was a young woman and student named Ororo Munroe, aka Storm. Once the team was trained and fielded on active missions, they took on the additional responsibility of teaching and helping new Mutants deal with their powers.On one horrible night, the X-Men were fielded to stop a particularly powerful Mutant and his 'gang'. The 'intelligence' received on this Mutant and his cohorts was sketchy and actually turned out to be a set-up to entrap the X-Men and take them captive. In the ensuing melee', 'things' happened and a number of the team were killed outright or severely injured.After making sure his remaining team-mates were going to be okay, Logan left. Xavier has not, to current time, explained his absence or even whether or not he survived.Current Time/Game Time: Almost seven years later, as Human/Mutant incidents are on the rise, Xavier once again sees a need for a Mutant 'police force'. He sees this new X-Men team as a force for good and a way to help peacefully integrate the rapidly emerging Mutant society with the established Human society. To this end, he has contacted Logan and asked him to 'come home' and train his 'new' team.
Logan has reluctantly agreed.Can shadows from their past be put aside for the good of the new X-Men? How will the surviving members of the original team react and what will they do as 'truths' are learned about that disastrous night?Note: We want the new X-Men to include younger versions of the old familiar characters such as Scott, Jean, Beast etc...as well as many of the OCC’s and other Canon characters that are available.Please ask the Staff BEFORE stating or establishing that your character was one of the old, now disbanded, original X-Men.
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